UN asks Israel to 'end unlawful killings' of Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The United Nations has asked Israel to “end unlawful killings” of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, warning that the human rights situation in the territory is rapidly deteriorating.

Since Israel’s brutal war on the besieged Gaza Strip in early October, the Tel Aviv regime has also ramped up its violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.

In a report released on Thursday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights detailed the quickly worsening human rights situation in the West Bank, including East al-Quds, since October 7, when the regime’s military began bombing Gaza.

The office strongly urged Tel Aviv to end its unlawful killings and settler violence against the Palestinian population in the occupied territory.

The report verified the deaths of 300 Palestinians from October 7 to December 27, including 79 children, in the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds, adding that of these, at least 291 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces, eight were killed by Israeli settlers, and one Palestinian was killed either by Israeli security forces or settlers.

“The use of military tactics and weapons in law enforcement contexts, the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force, and the enforcement of broad, arbitrary and discriminatory movement restrictions that affect Palestinians are extremely troubling,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

He further called for prosecution of both "instigators and perpetrators" behind settler attacks against Palestinians.  

“The dehumanization of Palestinians that characterizes many of the settlers' actions is very disturbing and must cease immediately. Israeli authorities should strongly censure and prevent settler violence and prosecute both its instigators and perpetrators,” the UN official said. 

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“I call on Israel to take immediate, clear and effective steps to put an end to settler violence against the Palestinian population, to investigate all incidents of violence by settlers and Israeli Security Forces, to ensure effective protection of Palestinian communities against any form of forcible transfer, and to ensure the ability of herding communities displaced due to repeated attacks by armed settlers to return to their lands,” he stressed.

Turk also said that the intensity of the violence and repression in the territory is something that has not been seen in years.

The Israeli regime waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s atrocities against Palestinians.

Since the start of the US-backed offensive, the Israeli regime has killed at least 21,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 55,000 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under the rubble.

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